Assignment 1: Hershey’s Sweet Mission
By: Stephanie L. Braddy
Professor: Dr. Ingrid Wright
Human Resource Management Foundations
HRM 500
Date: January 23, 2013

During this assignment several things will be discussed about the topic on Hershey’s Sweet Mission, things like: * recommending the redesign of Hershey’s performance management system to appeal to the diverse group that it employs * if I were a Hershey’s employee, analyze how I would interpret the values that Hershey embraces in relation to your role * in terms of the trends identified in the chapter describe which one may impact Hershey the most and, * describe the effect that mentoring could have on integrating values into the Hershey culture.
For starters performance management refers to the process through which managers ensure that employee activities and outputs contribute to the organization’s goals (p. 8, Noe, 2011). This redesign is an effort, in which the people of the company set goals and track the progress of projects which would measure both business results and the achievement of employees working toward Hershey’s four core values (Noe, et.al., 2011, p. 56). This redesigned performance management system would allow employees to show their performance based on goals that are set on specific projects instead of just every day mundane work. It would increase motivation amongst employees as they would now have specific goals attached to a project that has a clear objective and their progress and work efforts on these projects would have a focus on direct business efforts that would help them feel like they are a part of the team. As for the Hershey’s performance management system to appeal to the diverse group they would have to utilize knowledge workers, such as indicated by Noe (2011) in the case study in the form of mentoring. Noe (2011) defined knowledge workers as employees whose key contribution to the organization is specialized knowledge, such as knowledge of customers, a process, or a profession. Hershey has baby boomers that specialize in the knowledge of the customers and the process, and who are also enthusiastic about sharing what they know to the younger generation of workers, and subsequently fascinated by leaving a legacy. As far as addressing the younger generation’s eagerness for challenges, employee empowerment is also critical as part of the redesign process. Bohlander et al (2004) emphasizes that the ability for an employee to take part in the decision making process is considered to be one of the important essentials of an HPWS because it allows the employee to make decisions which can have a positive impact on their immediate environment, and in turn impacts the whole organization. This involvement often leads to employees feeling more empowered, as well as a more dedicated workforce (Bohlander & Snell, 2004). In an effort to improve this performance management system Human Resources may wish to further explore the research that indicates that teams with diverse memberships are likely to have a deeper pool of resources in which the company can benefit from (Bassett-Jones, 2005). Since the current review process consist of setting up personal goals based on the company's value system, employees could also create goals which directly address the learning and training relationship between employees. Goals that a new employee could implement would include an effort to collaborate with elder staff and improve upon policy procedures, lead team discussions on one area of expertise during the year and create a guidance template used for future new employees. If I were a Hershey’s employee, I would analyze how well Hershey embraces in my relation with the organization by being open to change and willing to advance as well as succeed in the new opportunities, competitive challenges, and customer demands. This organization has pride itself on seeing their employees for more than what they are worth, opening